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Author Archives: ww1geek
2014: Dawn of the Centenary
So here we are in 2014, a year that will see the start of over four years of events to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. One hundred years since a conflict that affected most households in the … Continue reading
Posted in Centenary, WW1
Tagged Centenary, imperial war museum, lives of the first world war
1 Comment
Christmas Day casualties
Earlier this year I accompanied a school group on their trip to Ypres, led by Steve Garnett of Gesta. The first stop on the salient was Essex Farm Cemetery, where John McCrae wrote his famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. After … Continue reading
Posted in 1916, Battlefield tours, Research, WW1, Ypres
Tagged 17th KRRC, 1916, Christmas Day casualties, Essex Farm, KRRC
2 Comments
A Great War Sniper
This photograph from my collection shows a Sergeant from The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment). Helpfully it is signed by the soldier ‘Yours truly Sgt. J. Wyeth’. However on searching the First World War service records and medal index cards … Continue reading
‘This officer served his machine gun…until he had been shot five times’ – Jack Dimmer VC
A few years ago I worked for the London Borough of Merton. Based at the Civic Centre in Morden, for nearly two years every day I walked past a small plaque in the foyer to Lieutenant Colonel John Dimmer, VC. … Continue reading
Posted in First Ypres, Gallantry, WW1
Tagged Dimmer, First Ypres, Jack Dimmer VC, King's Royal Rifle Corps, KRRC, Merton, VC, Victoria Cross, Wimbledon, Ypres
7 Comments
The Wipers Times
A new comedy drama starring Michael Palin is set to tell the true story of how troops during the Great War found a bout of humour on the battlefield using an abandoned printing press. Nina Koo-Seen-Lin takes a look at … Continue reading
Posted in Centenary, Television, WW1
Tagged BBC, Centenary, michael palin, wipers times, Ypres
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‘The Glorious First of July’
97 years ago today the Somme campaign began after a week long artillery bombardment. Initial reports of British and Commonwealth troops’ progress were promising and were reported positively in the British press, the full extent of the nearly 60,000 casualties … Continue reading
Posted in Somme, WW1
3 Comments
From Yeoman to Tunneller
My final post on the MacDuff family’s war experiences focuses on Donald MacDuff. Son of Peter and younger brother of William, Donald had a very interesting army career. On the face of it his war record seems quite strange; he … Continue reading
Posted in Research, WW1
Tagged Arras, Gallipoli, Royal Engineers, Scottish Horse, Somme, tunnelling
3 Comments
‘The Colonel’ – My Great Great Grandfather in the Black Watch
In previous posts I have written about my search for details of my Great Great uncle, William Brown MacDuff, who was killed in Belgium in December 1917. However as I started looking into my family tree in more detail, it … Continue reading
Posted in WW1
Tagged Black Watch, Fife, Lochgelly, MacDuff, Peter MacDuff, Royal Highlanders, Somme, Ypres
4 Comments
A German Letter from the Front
There has been a great deal of interest on Twitter over the last few days in some amazing interviews with German veterans that have been translated by Rob Schaefer. This reminded that several years ago I acquired a First World … Continue reading
February battlefield trip – part 2
On the second day of our trip we departed south from Ypres. Thick mist enveloped the countryside and visibility was minimal, and we wondered what it must have been like manning the trenches in similar conditions. Our first stop was … Continue reading
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